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When shopping for a tablet there are a lot of little things to think about. How much you want to spend? Android, Windows, or Apple? How much memory space do you need? Is the device's memory expandable? Will you be able to get the apps you want? Is this the right tablet for your uses? What size should you get? Do you need a keyboard? And the deeper you go into the rabbit hole, the more questions you will find yourself asking... or at least I have. Which is why I'm putting everything I've learned on my tablet buying adventure into these posts on how to find the RIGHT tablet for you!Before you even start shopping you really need to get the lingo down, I went over everything you need to know in my previous post: "What to look for when you're shopping for TABLETS this season!" I recommend reading it before this one if you don't know what OS, GB, processing speed, etc. refer to, and mean in the context of buying a tablet... you should find it very helpful!
How much do you want to spend?
If you are thinking of spending around $100 or less, It's Android all the way! But skip the over commercialized Nexus 7 and Samsung Galaxy Tab or Note, as the mere name sake will more than triple the cost of your purchase, with little or no extra actual value (actually sometimes the well known tablets are even slower and running older operating systems).
Note: If you really want a Samsung Galaxy, I would get the newly released Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1" 2014 Edition, it's running the new Android 4.3 operating system, and the rest of the specs are leaps and bounds better than previous models, but it will cost you (check out my next post: "Shopping Guide for 10.1" and larger tablets - Can they really replace your laptop?" for exact specs and price).
If you are really happy with your iPhone and you just have to have an iPad or iPad mini to play with and use at home to get away from looking at that tiny phone screen, know that it's going to cost you around $400, +/- $100 depending on the model. The specs say the iPads run at about 1GHz, which is slower than most of the cheap Android tablets, and though like most of the other tablets we see Apple's only have dual-core processors, they have a way of making slow feel faster, since all their parts are made specifically to work together, they tend to do so very well.Are you a Windows guy/girl and must have that Windows 8 Tablet for $500? They are the newest thing after all, and their specs seem pretty impressive! Actually, they seem to be the most comparable to a laptop, but here's what they don't advertise- they have a VERY limited apps market, and in my opinion won't be worth purchasing until there are some MAJOR steps forward in that domain.
We actually got my daughter a Surface RT because they were on sale for $199 recently at Best Buy, but they don't come with the keyboards, the app store is just pathetic (I can't reiterate this enough)- they don't have enough free apps to entertain my 9 year old or me. Really the only thing that's good about it is it comes with MS Office. We had to do an update to Windows 8.1 which took 5 tries because something was messed up and I only accidentally fixed the problem (I couldn't do it again if my life depended on it). Anyway, I'll do a full review of that tablet later...
How much memory will I need and is the memory expandable?
A good rule of thumb is that iPads and Windows tablets are not expandable, but this may change in the future, who knows. This is however why they are so expensive to begin with. You have to buy that initial 64GB tablet vs the 8GB tablet that you can expand to 64GB with a $32 microSD chip. And believe me they will charge you a hefty price for a 32GB or 64GB tablet, because they can. Because for some reason people have not got mad enough yet that they are charging hundreds of dollars extra for a mere 32 GB that I could buy for about $16.
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Which is the primary reason I find the 8 or 16GB tablets the best value, then they can be expanded to 32 or 64GB. This way you put the money into the processor and upgraded operating system, then buy additional memory for cheap. So, I'm Android all the way :) It's just the best bang for your buck in my opinion.
8" Tablet Comps
Sidenote: They do make great little portable USB chargers now, so if you run out of battery you can easily recharge your tablet. If you haven't seen them yet they're pictured to the right. They are really neat, I think everyone should have one, and you can get 2 for $16... Plus if you register with nomorerack today you will get $10 just for signing up, so with the $10 off, they would only be $3 each... not too shabby!9" Tablet Comps
Another 9" tablet for $99 is the Kocaso MID Google Android 4.2 OS 1.2 GHz 8 GB, which is similar to the Zeepad in many ways, but it apparently has a slightly better battery and a dual-core processor, so it's faster!
9.7" Tablet Comps
Okay iPad fans, I'm finally going to throw an iPad at you.... Here's the 9.7" Apple iPad 2 (pictured below), dual-core 1GHz processor, they have 16GB of internal memory, and are on sale for $424.00.
One more 9.7" tablet to look at, the MID Google Android 4.1 OS 1.6 GHz quad-core 16GB for $219.00, pictured below. This tablet looks to be the best of the entire bunch in my opinion, as it has a good battery life and a super speedy processor, and for $14 you can buy a keyboard screen protector :)
Hope this helps you all find the perfect tablet for you or whoever is on your shopping list this holiday season! Keep your eyes open for my next post! Happy Holidays!!! ~Megan
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